Brenda and Mark Anderson have been named the 2025 Solvang Danish Days grand marshals, and will preside over Danish Days weekend, Sept. 19-21, the Solvang Danish Days Foundation has announced.

Solvang Danish Days celebrates its 88th anniversary this year, and Brenda Anderson’s family has been involved in the event since 1936, when the first Solvang Danish Days festival emerged in honor of the village’s 25th anniversary.

Brenda and Mark Anderson both have Scandinavian roots.

Brenda’s great-grandfather on her grandmother’s side, Niels Peter Nielsen, was born in Fyn, Denmark. He emigrated to the U.S. in the late 1890s, settling in Iowa, where he met and married Brenda’s great-grandmother Marie Kristene Grau in 1906.

Grau’s parents were also from Denmark, as were Brenda’s great-grandparents on her grandfather’s side, who moved to the U.S. from the Jutland region of Denmark.

Grau and Nielsen moved to Askov, Minnesota, where they bought property to start a farm. Upon their arrival in Askov, Brenda’s great-grandfather noticed there were a number of mailboxes with the last name “Nielsen,” so they decided to add “Nedegaard” to their surname.

Together, the couple raised 10 children. It was important to Brenda’s great-grandmother that all the children learn the Danish language and Danish traditions.

In the late 1920s, seven of the children began migrating to Solvang due to its strong Danish community, all in search of work.

Ivo (Martin) Jacobsen, Mabel (Hans) Petersen (Brenda’s grandparents), Irene (Aage) Madsen, Margaret (Sigurd) Lunde, Jack (Arla) Nedegaard, Lucille (Vic) Wulff, and Cora (Leland) Vandecar. Each of them spent years participating in Danish Days, either setting up the festival, baking or serving aebleskiver.

Once in California, Brenda’s grandmother Mabel Nedegaard (Petersen) met and married her grandfather Hans Petersen in 1935. Together, they ran the local laundromat in “downtown” Solvang, just left of the current novelty shop at 1604 Copenhagen Drive.

In 1936 Brenda’s father Howard Petersen was born in Solvang. He graduated from Grand View College in Des Moines, Iowa, then returned to Solvang, where he met and married Brenda’s mother Linda Petersen, who had moved to Solvang from Luck, Wisconsin, after graduating high school.

Upon completing his military duties, Brenda’s father returned to Solvang to work as a mechanic until 1962, when he and Linda opened their own Shell gas station, formerly on the corner of Mission Drive and Atterdag Road, where the Fredensborg Square commercial building stands today.

Howard served in Solvang’s Volunteer Fire Department for 13 years before becoming fire chief, a title he held for 25 years.

Mark’s parents Arlin and Lorraine Anderson met and married in Minot, North Dakota. Mark was the oldest of seven children who were born in North Dakota and moved to Santa Maria in 1964. They settled in Los Olivos in 1975.

Mark’s Scandinavian roots stretch back to his great-grandparents on both his father’s and mother’s sides, who migrated from Norway.

Brenda’s first Solvang Danish Days experience was at age of five, when her parents enrolled her in Viggo Tarnow’s gymnastics class. His classes performed at every Danish Days; Brenda participated until she started high school.

In 1978, Brenda was chosen to be Danish Maid, of which she mused, “It was such an honor, and has turned out to be one of the highlights of my life.”

After high school, Mark, along with his best friend Glen Jacobsen, started to participate in Danish Days by picking up and delivering the picnic tables that line Copenhagen Drive for the weekend’s Aebleskiver Breakfasts.

The two co-produce the Danish Days breakfasts for many years. Mark currently helps in the breakfasts’ baking area.

The Anderson’s sons Jonathan and Justin “always looked forward to Danish Days.” The children’s experiences began when they were big enough to put milk on the tables for breakfast, and now they both help with the set-up and tear-down of the festival’s booths, stages, and breakfast equipment.

During the breakfast hours, Jonathan is on quality control and delivery of Aebleskiver, while Justin helps with logistics, so supplies and equipment get from one place to another when needed.

Brenda’s nieces Kayla (2021 Danish Maid) and Krystal help bake, and in recent years her daughter-in-law Caitlin and Caitlin’s mother Susan have joined as part of the baking crew.

“It’s been a family tradition and a family holiday we hope continues for many years to come,” Brenda said.

After graduating from Allan Hancock College, Brenda joined her family’s business Petersen’s Service & Towing until it was sold in 2003. She has since worked in property management for Buellton-based RPL Management.

Mark retired recentlt, after working in the construction industry for 40 years. The couple now enjoys camping trips, getting together with family and friends, and watching their grandkids.

“It was truly an honor and such a rewarding experience to serve on the Danish Days Foundation Board alongside my father Howard Petersen as a founding member, and eventually, as a co-chair with Max Hanberg,” Brenda Anderson said.

“During my 27 years on the board, I had the pleasure of assisting in the selection of each of the Danish maids,” she said. “This also included arranging for their dresses to be made, and taking them around to the local Danish organizations to introduce them, talk about their Danish lineage in Solvang, their duties as Danish Maid, as well as selling Win a Trip to Denmark tickets to help support the foundation.

“We are forever grateful to have this honor of representing the foundation as the grand marshals for 2025,” she said. “We realize how important it is to stay committed so that Danish Days continues for many years to come.

“To the board and all of the hardworking volunteers, a huge thank you. Mange tak!”

The Danish Days Parade lineup starts at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 20 on First Street near Molle Way. The parade turns east on Copenhagen Drive, north on Alisal Road, west on Mission Drive, south on Atterdag Road, east on Copenhagen, south on Second Street, and finishes through Molle Way (behind Solvang Festival Theater) back to First Street.

Participation in the Solvang Danish Days Parade is free; parade applications are available here.

The preliminary 2025 Solvang Danish Days event weekend schedule is available at www.solvangdanishdays.org.

Aebleskiver Breakfast tickets are available for advance online purchase at https://solvang-danish-days-2025.eventbrite.com.

For more about Solvang Danish Days, including its history and contact information, visit www.solvangdanishdays.org.

Solvang Danish Days 2025 is sponsored in part by the city of Solvang, Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians, Visit the Santa Ynez Valley, Santa Barbara County Office of Arts and Culture, County of Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara Bowl, Rio Vista Chevrolet, Danish Folk Costumes, Montecito Bank & Trust, Santa Ynez Valley Cottage Hospital, CoastHills Credit Union, Mechanics Bank, the Red Viking Restaurant and Olsen’s Danish Village Bakery, Sun Coast Rentals, Waste Management, and Nielsen Building Materials.